Eagle River - The honors just keep coming for administrators in the Northland Pines School District.District Administrator Mike Richie was named the nation's Superintendent of the Year last year.Now, a Pines principal is claiming her own honor."The lights were out. I still had no clue," Northland Pines Middle School Principal Jackie Coghlan said.
Coghlan had no clue that she would be surprised by her students and staff Friday morning.The occasion?Being named Wisconsin's middle school Principal of the Year."Her dedication to the kids, her work over 15 years in this school, her relationship with her staff really make her stand out as an outstanding principal in Wisconsin," said Joseph Moylan, President, Association of Wisconsin School Administrators."I didn't do anything by myself. There were people who were involved with it. That's a reflection of the people that I work with," Coghlan said.Fifteen years at one place is a long time.But it's an enjoyable ride when you love your job, like Jackie Coghlan does."I like it, and I do, because I have staff that are dedicated, and I truly do, and they believe in some of the same things I believe in," Coghlan said.Now, she'll head to Washington, DC, to be considered as the National Principal of the Year."The great honor of being Principal of the Year is really today. Getting to hear your kids, and the way they feel about you. Getting to hear your staff and the way that they feel about you, and that your work matters," Moylan said.